This beautifully framed piece features an original piece of watercolor artwork glass-framed in an attractive two inch wide black resin frame with a double mat. The outer dimensions of the framed piece are approximately 17” wide x 24.5” high, although the exact size will vary according to the size of the original piece of art.

At the core of the framed piece is the actual piece of original artwork as painted by the artist on textured 100% rag, water-marked watercolor paper. In many cases the original artwork has handwritten notes in pencil from the artist (be sure to “See the actual artwork without the frame” elsewhere in this website). Simply put, this is beautiful, one-of-a-kind artwork.

The outer mat is a rich textured black acid-free mat with a decorative inset white v-groove, while the inner mat is a complimentary colored acid-free mat reflecting one of the team’s primary colors. The website image of this framed piece shows the mat color that we suggest (Hunter Green), but since each piece is custom framed, we are happy to use whatever color mat you wish (depending on availability) – our standard mat colors are:

Light Blue / Dark Blue / Brown / Maroon (close to brown) / White / Silver / Gold / Yellow (bright yellow) / Green (dark green) / Orange / Purple / Red (bright red, somewhat close to PMS 186)

Beneath the artwork is a silver plate with black text describing the original artwork. The text for this piece will read:

This original, one-of-a-kind watercolor painting of the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics (now Oakland Athletics) uniform is the original artwork that was used in the creation of this Oakland Athletics uniform evolution print and tens of thousands of other Oakland Athletics products that have been sold across North America. This original piece of art was painted by artist Bill Band for Maple Leaf Productions Ltd. 1929 was a World Series winning season for the Philadelphia Athletics.

Beneath the silver plate is a 3” x 9” reproduction of a well known, best-selling print that celebrates the history of the team. The print beautifully illustrates the chronological evolution of the team’s uniform and shows you how the original art was used in the creation of this print. If you look closely, you will see that the print features the actual artwork being offered for sale. The 3” x 9” print looks like this:

The piece is framed with an extremely high quality framing glass. We have used this glass style for many years with excellent results. We package every piece very carefully in a double layer of bubble wrap and a rigid double-wall cardboard package to avoid breakage at any point during the shipping process, but if damage does occur, we will gladly repair, replace or refund. Please note that all of our products come with a 90 day 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Each framed piece also comes with a two page letter signed by Scott Sillcox describing the history behind the art. If there was an extra-special story about your piece of art, that story will be included in the letter. When you receive your framed piece, you should find the letter lightly attached to the front of the framed piece.

If you have any questions, at any time, about the actual artwork or about any of the artist’s handwritten notes on the artwork, I would love to tell you about them. Simply email me, Scott Sillcox, at scott@heritagesportsart.com and I will tell you everything I can about your original piece of art. The artists and I spent well over ten years of our lives creating these pieces of original artwork, and in many cases there are stories I can tell you about your actual piece of artwork that might add an extra element of interest in your one-of-a-kind purchase.

Please note that all reproduction rights for this original work are retained in perpetuity by Major League Baseball unless specifically stated otherwise in writing by MLB. For further information, please contact Heritage Sports Art at questions@heritagesportsart.com .

 

History

The Philadelphia Athletics went back to their traditional capital A on the jersey for both their home and away uniforms beginning in the 1928 season, as we see on this home uniform. Note also that the center belt loop still remains - this was designed so that the belt buckle would be worn on the side, not in the front. Players in the first part of the 1900's usually wore their belt buckle to one side to prevent injury when sliding into a base.But let's talk about the 1929 Athletics. After finishing 2.5 games back of the Yankees in 1928, the 1929 Athletics finished 104-46 and won the American League pennant for the first time since 1914.In fact, the Athletics of the late 20's and early 30's are considered to be one of the best ball teams of all time they had to be to beat the Yankees of that era! The 1929-31 Athletics are one of only 4 teams in baseball history to win 100 games three years in a row. In 1929 they went 104-46; in 1930 they went 102-55; and in 1931 they went 107-45. The three other teams to win 100 games three years running were the 1942-44 Cardinals, the 1969-71 Orioles and the 1997-99 Braves.In fact, Sports Illustrated recently rated the 1929-31 Athletics as perhaps the best baseball team ever (can anyone out there tell me what issue of SI said this it was some time 1998-2001 please mail us at ssillcox@rogers.com). And sport statistician Harry Hollingsworth, who wrote Best and Worst Baseball Teams of All Time in 1994, examined statistics and compared the findings of six other books, and rated the 1929 Athletics as the third best baseball team of all time, behind only the previously mentioned 1927 Yankees and the 1939 Yankees. Hollingsworth had the 29 Athletics followed by the 1906 Chicago Cubs; the 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates; the 1936 Yankees; the 1944 St. Louis Cardinals; the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics and the 1943 Cards.These Athletics teams were led by the likes of hitters Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Double X Foxx, Al Simmons and Bing Miller, and pitchers Lefty Grove, George Moose Earnshaw and Rube Walberg.Getting back to the 1929 season, the Athletics met the 98-54 Chicago Cubs in the 1929 World Series. The Athletics won games 1 & 2 in Chicago by 3-1 and 9-3 counts, then lost game three back home by a 3-1 score despite outhitting the Cubs 9-6. Then in game 4, the Athletics were down 8-0 going into the bottom of the 7th and were in danger of seeing the series tied. Three outs later the Athletics led the game 10 to 8. And two days later, down 2-0 going into the bottom of the 9th, the Athletics rallied with 3 to take the Series 4 games to 1.